Process of making non-coking coals coking.



Illinois,

coals,

term coke.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE JOSEPH BECKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, IO H. KOPPERS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF MAKING NON-COKING GOALS COKING.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J OSEPH BECKER, a subj eot of the German Empire, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of have invented a new and useful Im- Processes of Making Nonprovement in of which the follow- Coking Coals Coking,

ing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in 10 process of making non-coking coals coking.

It is well known that while some coals will coke easily and yield a large quantity of coke suitable for any manufacture, other and particularly those found in the central and western parts of the United States, will not form coke at all, and, in fact, in many instances will not leave any substance or residue which comes within the These last mentioned coals are termed non-coking coals, and the same have hitherto been considered practically worthless for yielding coke. In the manufacture of iron and steel enormous amounts of coke are required, and where the iron and steel plants are located in parts of the United States where there is only noncoking coal, it is necessary at the present time to transport coke or coking coal long 0 distances. In the western parts of the United States, where coal deposits of noncoking quality are found, as, for instance, in Utah, the building of coke oven plants, and, also, the building of iron and steel plants,

has been seriously checked because of the practically prohibitive cost resulting from transporting the necessary coke or coking coal from distant points. A great many attempts have been made to devise a successful method for utilizing these non-coking coals to obtain coke therefrom. For instance, attempts have been made to add good coking coal to non-coking coal in order to make coke, but such .processes are, in certain 10- calities, out of the question on account of the substantial percentage of good coking coal necessary to coke a mass of non-coking coal. The good coking coal would have to be brought from different localities, and

high freight rates usually make such processes uneconomical. Other processes, prior to my invention, have proved to be failures.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple process by which non-coking coals may be made to produce good coke without Specification of Letters Patent.

Application field December 8, 1913.

materially increasing the cost of production.

- Coking and non-coking coals generally show a different analysis, but, as is well known to those skilled in the art, even coals which show the same ultimate analysis are sometimes coking coals and sometimes noncoking coals. The non-coking coals, when charged into the coking ovens and subjected to a coking heat, and while undergoing the distilling process, give off those substances which should form the binding material for the residue to form the coke, but the residue is of such a character that it cannot be called coke. I have found by tests, and herein my invention consists, that coke of good quality, suitable for use in the manufacture of iron and steel and the like, may be obtained in large quantities from so-called non-coking coals by thoroughly and intimately mixing, in suitable proportions, crushed pitch in a solidified form and crushed non-coking coal, the homogeneous mixture thus formed being then charged into the coking ovens and subjected to a coking heat. The pitch, when exposed to the high temperatures of the coking process, decomposes and, at the same time, leaves a residue which combines with the residue of the non-coking coal to form coke of good quality. The percent of crushed solidified pitch which is required for the non-coking coal varies according to the quality of such coal, and, in general, may be stated to approximate from two to ten per cent. by weight of the coal, although the process is by no means limited to these percentages. In carrying out my process, the pitch in a solid form and the non-coking coal are both crushed separately, and the two materials are then poured together and thoroughly mixed to produce a homogeneous mass which is then placed in the coke ovens and heated to a coking heat in any of the well known ways. In some cases it is advisable to stamp the crushed non-coking coal and the crushed pitch before being charged into the ovens in order to have the particles of the pitch and non-coking coal brought closer together. The stamping or compressing of the mixture is made more effective by adding moisture in quantities approximating ten per cent. of the mixture.

The term application, is used in a descriptive and gepitch, as used throughout this v neric sense to include all substances which are commonly termed pitch, or which have the characteristics thereof, as, for instance, coal tar pitch, crude oil pitch, and petrol pitch. The term non-coking coal is also used'in a descriptive manner throughout this application to designate, as is understood in the art, coals which, with hitherto known processes, produce no coke or which are of such inferior coking properties as to bekunfit for the commercial production of 00 e.

From the preceding description, it will be seen that my improved process not only makes it possible to utilize non-coking coals which have hitherto been considered practically. worthless for the production of coke, but, furthermore, coke can be produced in those sections of the country far removed from the deposits of coking coal, at much less expense than has hitherto been possible and, indirectly, this lowered cost of coke production decreases the cost of manufacture of steel and other products in which coke is necessary in the production thereof.

Although I have herein described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my improvements, yet it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, that changes and modifications may be made in carrying out my process Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and modifications are contemplated as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim I 1. The coking process that consists in subjecting to the required coking heating a mixture of crushed non-coking coal and crushed solidified pitch, substantially free of admixture of coking coal.

2. The coking process that consists in subjecting tothe requiring coking heating a stamped mixture of crushed non-coking coal and crushed. solidified pitch, substantially free of admixture of coking coal.

3. The .coking' process that consists in subjecting'to the required coking heating a moistenedand-stamped mixture of crushed non-cokin 'coal'and crushed solidified pitch, sublstantia y free of admixture of coking coa i 4. The coking process that consists in subjecting to the required coking heating a mixture of crushed non-coking coal and approximately two to ten percentumin weight of crushed solidified pitch, substantially free of admixture of coking coal.

5. The coking process that consists in subj ecting to the required coking heating a mix-- ture of crushed non-coking coal and crushed solidified pitch, substantially free of admixture of tar.

6. The coking process that consists in subjecting to the required coking heating a stamped mixture of crushed non-coking coal and crushed solidified pitch, substantially free of admixture of tar.

7. The coking process that consists in subjecting to the required coking heating a moistened and stamped mixture of crushed non-coking coal and crushed solidified pitch, substantially free of admixture of tar.

8. The coking process that consists in first taking crushed solidified pitch and mixing it with crushed non-coking coal, substantially free of admixture of coking coal and tar, and then subjecting the mixture to the required coking heating.

9. The coking process that consists in first making a homogeneous mixture of solidified pitch and crushed non-coking coal, substantially free of admixture of coking coal and tar, and then stamping such mixture, and then subjecting it to the required coking heating. a

10. The coking process that consists in first making a homogeneous mixture of-solidified pitch and crushed non-coking coal, substantially free of admixture of coking JOSEPH BECKER.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH HARRIS, VWILLIAM A. Gmcnx.

coal and tar, and then moistening and stamp-' 

